Old pictures of beautiful village of Loders in west Dorset

These old pictures of the village are taken by Bridport photographer Claud Hider and include an image of the Loders Arms that was taken from 1922 onwards. 

The village's second pub, The Farmers Arms, closed in 1975. 

The landlord and landlady of The Farmers Arms were once a Mr and Mrs Blackler, whose daughter married Mr Pitcher, who became the next landlord.

The Farmers Arms in Loders (Image: Claud Hider) This picture shows The Farmers Arms with the Loders Arms in the distance and was taken around 1930.

The cottages beside the Loders Arms are long-gone, replaced with a car park and later an outside seating area. In the distance on the left is Mr Budden's shop with its sign above and to the left of the car parked outside. The pub closed in 1975.

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Still open today is the Loders Arms, which you can see in this picture here.

The Loders Arms (Image: Claud Hider) The Loders Arms dates from the 1800s and has a traditional skittle alley.

Last year the pub reopened under new management. 

Here's a recent picture of The Loders Arms, which is now run by husband-and-wife duo, Matt and Harriet Hallet.

The Loders Arms (Image: NQ) Loders is situated along the River Asker two miles north east of Bridport. In Celtic times the River Asker was known as Lodre or Lodres hence the name of the village.

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It has always been a thriving rural community, which may have its origins as far back as 1800BC according to human bones found in the 1930s at Boarsbarrow Hill and a stock of chipped flints near the church, believed to be from a Neolithic workshop.

Loders from afar (Image: Claud Hider)

Roman coins were found when Wellplot was built in the 1950s and the first written reference dates back to the time of Edward the Confessor in the first half of the 11th century.

There are also Celtic and Saxon lynchets to the north and south and Yondover Bridge is a listed ancient monument.

There is a village school in Loders founded in 1869 by the Nepean family who used to own the whole village. The school was originally called Lady Nepean's School.

St Mary Magdalene Church (Image: Claud Hider)

The Grade 1 listed parish church of St Mary Magdalene is at the west end of Loders. It is always open to welcome visitors from all over the world seeking their roots as an exceptional number of people seem to have emigrated from here in the 18th and 19th centuries.

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Built of warm coloured stone the current building is on the site of a Saxon church and a 12th century priory. It was sensitively restored in 1901, but remains mostly mediaeval in style and construction. There is an excellent peal of six bells and a renowned William Hill pipe organ dating back to 1864.

Many thanks to the archives of Loders Local History Group, the Dorset OPC for some of the information above and to Neil Mattingly for his digital archive project of Claud Hider photos.